BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on Wednesday said he was “appalled” by the high number of casualties from the bombing by Israel of a refugee camp in Gaza and called for fighting parties to respect the international rules of war.
“Building on EU Council’s clear stance that Israel has the right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law and ensuring the protection of all civilians, I am appalled by the high number of casualties following the bombing by Israel of the Jabalia refugee camp, ” Borrell said in a statement on X.
“Laws of war and humanity must always apply, including when it comes to humanitarian assistance,” Borrell said.
Palestinian health officials said at least 50 Palestinians were killed when Israeli air strikes hit the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza on Tuesday. Israel said the strike had killed a ringleader of last month’s deadly Hamas attack on Israel.
EU leaders last week called for pauses in Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket attacks to get humanitarian aid into Gaza through safe corridors, as they said they were deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the area.
U.N. and other aid officials said civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave were facing a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat snowballing casualties as electricity supplies peter out.
“With each passing day, as the situation becomes more and more dire, this is more urgent than ever,” Borrell said as he repeated last week’s plea.
“The safety and the protection of civilians is not only a moral, but a legal obligation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the international calls for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting, saying that Hamas would take advantage of any truce.